Navarrete's Walk-Off Burns Barnstormers

(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 13, 2012) - The Long Island Ducks defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers 3-2 in waddle-off fashion on Thursday night to take the three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.

The Ducks struck first in the bottom of the opening inning on Ray Navarrete's RBI double to left-center off Barnstormers starter John Halama. Lancaster leapfrogged in front in the fourth inning on a two-run home run to left-center by Ryan Harvey off Ducks starter Chris Hayes.

Long Island immediately tied it at two in the fifth on another RBI double by Navarrete, this time to right. It would stay tied until the bottom of the ninth when Navarrete lined a walk-off single to right-center, scoring Kraig Binick.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Hayes went seven and one-third innings, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out two, and Halama lasted seven innings, yielding two runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts. Eric Niesen (3-2) got the win, retiring all five batters he faced in relief, and Jeff Bennett (4-8) took the loss, surrendering a run on one hit and two walks in the ninth.

Navarrete's four hits and three RBI led the way for the Flock.

The Ducks open up a four-game series on Friday night against the Camden Riversharks. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 6:05. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Golf Towels, courtesy of CyberKnife. In addition, the Ducks will be running their Friday night Pizza Hut K-Man promotion. If the K-Man strikes out in the game, all fans can redeem their game ticket for free breadsticks at a participating Pizza Hut location.

Tickets for the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling 631-940-TIXX or visiting www.liducks.com. Fans unable to make the game can follow all the action live on the radio at MyCountry 96.1 FM and online at LIDucks.com by clicking the Watch Live icon on the homepage. Streaming video and audio will be provided by iBN, the Internet Broadcast Network.

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Duck Tales: Ray Navarrete's walk-off single was the Ducks' 10th waddle-off win of the year. Long Island has had a walk-off win in back-to-back games and three of the last four home games. With four hits, Navarrete extended his hitting streak to seven games. It was the second time Navarrete has had four or more hits in a game this year, and with three RBI, he earned his team-leading eighth three-RBI game of the year...With a double, Bryant Nelson extended his hitting streak to nine consecutive games. In that span, he is hitting .342 (13-for-48) with two homers, six RBI and six runs scored...Hayes continued a strong line of starting pitching of late for the Ducks with seven and one-third innings of two-run ball. During the last seven games, starters have allowed just 12 earned runs in 43 innings, which equates to a 2.51 ERA...With the win, the Ducks took their second series at home against Lancaster this season. Long Island also took two of three from the Barnstormers May 21-23 at Bethpage Ballpark. While the "Stormers finished 12-8 against the Ducks, Long Island went 6-4 at home against them.